Maxbialystock

They sure do, but I was hoping no one would notice. Plus, to be honest, I do think they have the best lineup in MLB.

Good news on the hitting front came just in time because Wright last night reminded us of the fragility of the knuckle ball--10 runs worth in 3.1 innings. Wright had by far the best ERA in the rotation before last night because he was simply unhittable and that knuckle curve and not-horrible fastball were like icing on the cake. Only this time the cake came out flat, flat, flat. So now maybe our rotation ain't the 2d best in the majors. A weeks or so ago the Sox had the third best ERA in MLB, and now they are 7th. The good news is they are still 3d best in the AL behind the Yankees and Astros. And they are #1 in MLB in runs scored. And something else I saw in the series at Yankees stadium where the Sox lost 2 of 3 but had a shot at winning all 3 and again later in Seattle when they split and again last night when Wright had that horrible 1st. This team is tougher than they look. When JBJ is in CF they got three midgets in the outfield. Devers still has his baby fat out there at 3B and sometimes seems very undisciplined. Bogie, who should be short, is a tall SS who ain't brilliant by any means, but sure wants to keep that job. 2B isn't a disaster, but it sure doesn't look the way it did when Pedey--still on the DL--was out there. Both catchers are good on defense, but not on offense. But overall this lineup, led by JDM who is pretty much on par with Big Papi in his best seasons--wild applause for DD for getting him--is just plain tough even though some games they can get shut down. But to me that's OK because they are pretty young: only Moreland, JDM, and Nunez/Holt are over 30. And, mad as I am at what he did last night, just maybe Cora is one of the reasons these guys seem to be pretty resilient.

Exactly right. I said it when the score was 10-6--the Sox had just gotten 1 back--and was still furious at Cora. The lineup bailed Cora out last night. And the bullpen did a good job too. I was surprised at how bad Wright could be when the knuckler wasn't working--a disaster. Given his previous starts--all good--Copa should have realized after the 1st inning he had a time bomb on his hands, but he didn't. That was especially galling because the lineup scored 5 in the bottom of the 1st kept the Sox in the ball game even after 2 more by Seattle in the 2d. On top of that is that Cora has 13 pitchers right now--one extra--and two long relievers, Velazquez and Johnson, to take care of these starter disasters. If LaBelle had been the LaBelle of a week ago last night, I would honestly not have cared what Cora did once Wright gave up the first 4 runs. The game would have been over in my mind. Just a bad read by Cora. Simple as that.

I take it back. What a bunch of quitters. Just a 2 run dinger and then a triple in the 6th. Are these guys trying? What a phony hit by Bogie. Who cares that Moreland scored to make it 10-9.

And may I also say I do not understand what in the hell Swihart is doing at DH. I'd much rather have JBJ in CF.

I agree of course. But you know something? I like the team even more because they didn't give up. Johnson's pitched his ass off. They just scored another to make it 10-6. I ain't over. Cora needs to see that and make up his mind to make better decisions. FWIW--I now include using Scott in the 8th as another bad decision. I think he needs to stop experimenting just to see what happens.

What move? Have you read none of moonslav's comments? The moves were made before the season started, and they were pretty good. The salary package for this team overall is the biggest in MLB. We can disagree about any or all of the trades and contracts and signings, but making a move is problematical especially with the kind of things you want to do.

Another thing. Cora ain't managing a bunch of also-rans. This is a good, competitive team with 50 wins, and they deserve someone with a little better insight. Of course, it's possible some of those wins are because of the way he handles the players. But he has to have lost a lot of respect with tonight's game.

Definitely agree with that, but I'm still mad as hell as Cora. What the hell is the point of having an extra reliever and at least two long relievers is you aren't going to use them?

It was, and it was horrible before Cruz came to the plate. Cora is showing his rookie colors tonight and I think in some prior games when I defended him.

I'm through defending Cora. Tonight was the dumbest job of managing I can remember. Wright showed how bad he was in the first inning. Cora has an extra pitcher right now, so there should be no hesitation on getting someone warm in the 2d inning, and Cora let it ride until the 4th. Stupid, stupid, stupid. This is especially galling because the Sox actually took the lead back in the 1st, so this game was winnable. Going into the 4th it was still winnable and Cora refused to warm anyone up until it was too late.

I say again, right now Cora is the only manager in MLB who has 13 pitchers--one extra--on his active roster. Tonight he was just plain dumb.

I'm so mad I'm rethinking all the other times I defended him.

I agree on that too. I might add that of course neither Wright nor Vazquez was going to suggest in any way that Wright didn't have it tonight. That are both partly complicit. You cannot, repeat, cannot trust a knuckler after that first inning. What the hell were those guys thinking? Plus two more in the 2d. Idiocy.

The problem was he didn't have anyone warming up at the first sign of trouble in the 4th. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Everyone knows I defend Cora on every single move, but not tonight. This was rookie manager at his worst and failing to understand that a knuckler gone bad is incredibly vulnerable. 10 runs, 5 of which belong to Cora. Shameful.

********. What Cora has done tonight is unconscionable. It was clear in the 2d inning that Wright didn't have it. He should have had someone warming up from the 3d inning on. He's got an extra reliever, by the way.

Sox are carrying 13 pitchers right now, one more than every other MLB team. Send one down.

Finally, someone who makes sense. It might not be the ideal song--it has absolutely nothing do with the Sox or baseball and I think was written for Caroline Kennedy--but it's ideal if the fans at the game like to sing it. I have no Neil Diamond recordings and never listen to him, but I'm fine with that song, especially when they sing it in the movie Fever Pitch.

They've lost 4 straight including Sunday's game to us and 3 at Yankee Stadium. However, their lefty LeBlanc shut us down for 7.2 innings on Saturday. Wright was almost as good against them, and the final was 1-0. I think Wright will again be effective unless it rains. I don't think LeBlanc can repeat. We have a good lineup, certainly better than Seattle's. I will say, however, that LeBlanc was pretty darn good at keeping the ball down. I'm not so sure that is repeatable because of the small margin of error. Wright, meanwhile, has the whole strike zone to work with.

The play in game changes things a lot and puts a premium on winning your division. I think four teams with one wild card was a better format because very often the wild card team had a better record than one or more of the division winners. This year, if Seattle keeps winning along with the Sox, a 5th team--the current format--would make sense.

He's already pitched more innings and in more games than anyone in our bullpen. I don't see him as a shot in the arm.

Yankees, Astros, and Sox are the three best in the AL in won-lost, run differential, and, amazingly, OPS (hitting) and ERA (pitching). Astros clearly have the best pitching, and right now the Yankees have the 2d best ERA by a small margin. I think our pitching will be better. But I do think the Yankees have the best hitting even though moonslav makes some good points about their issues. So what it boils down to is you gotta play the games and we will see what happens. Speaking of which, ain't it great to say that in June? Ladies and gents, we got ourselves a horse race.

To me the huge surprise this year is the rotation, now with Sale, Price, Porcello, ERod, and Wright. Sale may not be an ace of aces, but those five are a pretty good average. You had faith in Wright and were dead right. You still believe in Pom and I remain skeptical--no changeup. To get to this point, Price had to come back. Porcello had to come back big time. ERod had to improve. And Wright had to return from serious injury and a long absence.

Exactly the way I feel. Everyone please note moonslav's use of the phrase, "few precious resources left."